Footwear and insert therefor

ABSTRACT

An insert member for fitting within footwear, having a toe cap portion, a flexible connecting portion and a tongue portion supported in an elevated position with respect to the sole of the footwear. The insert member is a synthetic plastics material molding, and can have a cover of leather.

United States Patent Stohr et al. 51 June 13, 1972 [54] FOOTWEAR ANDINSERT THEREFOR 1,707,129 3/1926 McMurchy ..36/71 X 3,050,874 8/1962[72] Inventors: Rudolf Stohr, TuttIingen/Wurtt; Werner 2 774 52 12 195Stelzer, Rottweil, both of Germany 3 237 319 3 19 [73] Assignee: JustusRieker & Co., TuttIingen/Wurtt, 374lo6 11/1887 Germany FOREIGN PATENTSOR APPLICATIONS 1221 June 1970 924,242 3 1947 France ..36/71 [21] Appl.No.: 48,372

Primary Examiner-Alfred R. Guest 7 Attorney-John Lezdey [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data Feb. 8, 1969 Germany ..P 19 34 490.2 [57]ABSTRACT An insert member for fitting within footwear, having a toe cap[52] U.S. Cl ..36/71, 36/54 portion, a flexible connecting portion and atongue portion [51] supported in an elevated position with respect tothe sole of [58] Field of Search ..36/54, 71, 2.5 AL the t ea Th insertmember is a syn etic plastics materi a1 molding, and can have a cover ofleather. [56] References Cited 9 Claims 2 Drawing figures UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,986,580 1/1935 Johnson..'. ..36/2.5 AL UX PATENTEDJUH 13 I972FIG. 2

RUDOb SfoHR, WERNER SIfiLlBR INVENTORS FOOTWEAR AND INSERT THEREFOR Thepresent invention relates to an insert for a boot or shoe, such as a skiboot, and to a boot fitted with such an insert.

Hitherto it has been the practice to sew the toe-end of a boot or shoetongue to the interior of the leg of the boot or shoe. This made itnecessary for the tongue to be oriented with precision relatively to theleg opening, prior to securing of the tongue by sewing. This is aninvolved and time-consuming procedure, especially where boots with along leg portion, such as ski boots, are concerned.

According to the present invention there is provided an insert memberfor fitting within a boot or shoe, said insert member comprising a capportion for insertion into the toe region of the boot or shoe and atongue portion connected to said cap portion and extending in adirection rearwardly thereof to be supported thereby to maintainsaid'tongue portion in an elevated position with respect to the sole ofthe boot or shoe.

According to a further aspect the invention provides a boot or shoefitted with such an insert.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, thefollowing description is given, by way of example, reference being madeto the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I shows a perspective view of one embodiment of insert member ofthe invention; and

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section through the insert member of FIG. 1,the insert member being fitted in a boot which is shown in dot-dashedoutline.

Referring to the drawing, the insert member shown has a tongue portiondesignated by the numerall and a spacer or cap portion designated by thenumeral 3, and is formed as a unitary molding preferably of plasticsmaterial. A flexible connecting portion 2 is located between the tongueportion and the cap portion, and permits the tongue portion to flexrelatively to the cap portion, which is shown in FIG. 2 inserted in aboot 5, substantially perpendicularly to the sole 8 of the boot 5 and ina plane which is substantially that of the longitudinal axis of the sole8. The cap portion matches the interior shape of toe region 4 of theboot 5, and its shape is thus comparable to that of the front cap of theboot. Sidewalls 6 of the cap portion 3 extend beyond the connectingportion 2 between the tongue portion 1 and the cap portion 3, towardsthe rear end of the boot. The thickness of the sidewalls 6 of the capportion tapers towards the rear end of the boot, so that in that regionof rear edge 7 a substantially even transition is formed between the capportion and the foot of a wearer, in use. The underside of the capportion has a bottom surface 9 by which the cap portion is supported bythe sole 8 of the boot and which rests on the sole 8. The position ofthe insert member in the shoe or boot 5 may be gathered from FIG. 2.Because the cap portion matches the interior shape of the boot, the capportion contacts the toe region 4, the frontal region 10 of the leg ofthe boot, and the sole 8. The cap portion, and thus also the whole ofthe insert member, are thus immovably fixed in the boot, and the tongueportion is maintained in the correct position, which is an elevatedposition with respect to the sole 8. The edge of one of the two closingflaps of the boot leg is designated by the numeral 1 1, and the flapslie over the tongue portion.

The insert, which is preferably formed of a foamed and relativelyreadily compressible material such as polyurethane foam or foam rubber,has regions of varying thickness. In the instep region 12 and the tibialregion 13, for example, the tongue portion is of relatively thickconstruction so as to give rise to a good cushioning effect. Theseregions taper downwardly, so that here too an even transition fromtongue portion to foot is achieved. It is, however, possible tocompensate for differences in foot widths by appropriately dimensioningthe thickness of the tongue portion. This contributes to a major degreeto improving the fit of the boot. For this reason it is advantageous toproduce boots without tongues, and to have available for sale aplurality of insert members made in accordance with the inventionbut'differing as to their dimensions, including the wall thickness ofthe ca portion 3. By ness of the cap means of varying dimensioning ofthe wall thic portion 3, particularly in the region designated by thenumeral 14 in FIG. 2, it is possible to compensate for differing sizesof feet. Thus the insert member makes it possible for a single size ofboot to be used for several lengths or widths of feet.

The cap portion 3 can be constructed so that the insert member as awhole is held in the boot 5 by a clamping engagement. The outerdimensions of the cap portion are in this case advantageously madesomewhat larger than the inner dimensions of the toe region of the boot.The insert member may, of course, be firmly joined to the boot duringmanufacture of the latter, for example by means of an adhesive.

When producing an insert member of foam material it is advantageous toprovide the exterior of the insert member with a cover which preventsingress of moisture into the foam material, or at least makes itdifficult for moisture to enter. The insert member may be foamed ontothe cover, which may for example be a leather cover, during manufacture.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment represented by thedrawing. For instance, the cap portion 3 need not necessarily be aclosed one. All that is necessary is that the cap portion be of suchshape that it can be immovably supported by the boot. For this reasonthe cap portion preferably has a U'shaped cross section.

We claim:

1. An insert member for fitting within footwear having an upper and asole, said upper having a toe region and said insert member comprising,in combination:

a. a cap portion for insertion into said toe region substantiallymatching in its shape the interior shape of said toe region and havinglower edges resting on said sole;

b. a tongue portion connected to said cap portion and extending in adirection rearwardly thereof to be supported thereby so as to maintainsaid tongue portion in an elevated position with respect to said sole.

2. An insert member as specified in claim 1, further comprising aflexible connecting portion, having lateral sides and extending betweensaid cap portion and said tongue portion, whereby said tongue portion ispermitted to flex with respect to said cap portion perpendicularly tosaid sole.

3. An insert member as specified in claim 2, wherein said cap portionhas side walls extending rearwardly below and to each lateral side ofsaid connecting portion, said side walls having rear edges.

4. An insert member as specified in claim 3, wherein the thickness ofsaid rear edges tapers in the rearward direction.

5. An insert member as specified in claim 1 comprising a unitary moldedarticle of foamed synthetic plastics material.

6. An insert member as specified in claim 1, further comprising anexterior surface to said member and a cover over said exterior surface.

7. An insert member as specified in claim 6, wherein said cover isformed of leather.

8. A boot having an upper, a sole and fitted with an insert member, saidupper having a toe region, said insert member, comprising, incombination:

a. a cap portion for insertion into said toe region substantiallymatching in its shape the interior shape of said toe region and havinglower edges resting on said sole;

b. a tongue portion connected to said cap portion and extending in adirection rearwardly thereof to be supported thereby so as to maintainsaid tongue portion in an elevated position with respect to said sole.

9. A boot as specified in claim 8, wherein said cap portion has a bottomsurface resting on said sole.

* III t

1. An insert member for fitting within footwear having an upper and asole, said upper having a toe region and said insert member comprising,in combination: a. a cap portion for insertion into said toe regionsubstantially matching in its shape the interior shape of said toeregion and having lower edges resting on said sole; b. a tongue portionconnected to said cap portion and extending in a direction rearwardlythereof to be supported thereby so as to maintain said tongue portion inan elevated position with respect to said sole.
 2. An insert member asspecified in claim 1, further comprising a flexible connecting portion,having lateral sides and extending between said cap portion and saidtongue portion, whereby said tongue portion is permitted to flex withrespect to said cap portion perpendicularly to said sole.
 3. An insertmember as specified in claim 2, wherein said cap portion has side wallsextending rearwardly below and to each lateral side of said connectingportion, said side walls having rear edges.
 4. An insert member asspecified in claim 3, wherein the thickness of said rear edges tapers inthe rearward direction.
 5. An insert member as specified in claim 1comprising a unitary molded article of foamed synthetic plasticsmaterial.
 6. An insert member as specified in claim 1, furthercomprisIng an exterior surface to said member and a cover over saidexterior surface.
 7. An insert member as specified in claim 6, whereinsaid cover is formed of leather.
 8. A boot having an upper, a sole andfitted with an insert member, said upper having a toe region, saidinsert member, comprising, in combination: a. a cap portion forinsertion into said toe region substantially matching in its shape theinterior shape of said toe region and having lower edges resting on saidsole; b. a tongue portion connected to said cap portion and extending ina direction rearwardly thereof to be supported thereby so as to maintainsaid tongue portion in an elevated position with respect to said sole.9. A boot as specified in claim 8, wherein said cap portion has a bottomsurface resting on said sole.